In the Dark
by Mighty ANT
Summary: April doesn't need to be protected as much as she used to.


_**A/N: **Long time no see! It's been a while since I posted an April/Donnie fic, friendship or otherwise, and I hope I did an OK job. Please review with any thoughts or constructive criticism you may have!_

_This was written in honor of International Women's Day, so here's a shout-out to all my fellow ladies reading. Hope you all have a fantastic rest of the day! _

_TMNT belongs to Mirage Studios/Nickelodeon _

* * *

"Are you sure you're all right walking over here alone—"

April exhaled exasperatedly, cutting her friend off as she crossed the street.

"_Donnie_, I've told you a hundred times—I'll be fine! It's not even dark yet. Besides, I'm only a block away now. There'd be no point to you guys leaving the Lair just to 'escort me' back."

"Well, it wouldn't be _all_ of us, just…you know… _me_—"

"_Donnie_," April interrupted, and any attempt at making her voice sound stern failed when she was unable to control the grin that slid onto her face. "Stop. Worrying. I'll see you soon—be sure to tell Mikey to have some popcorn ready."

Donatello released a long-suffering sigh, knowing a pointless argument when he heard one.

"So are we _really_ watching _Spaces Heroes: The Movie_?"

"Yes," April answered curtly. "It's Leo's turn to choose tonight's movie."

"_Ugh_. I know. Are you sure you couldn't somehow change his mind?" Donatello finished hopefully.

"Donnie, are you saying that you _aren't_ looking forward to the live-action spin-off of Space Heroes, complete with terrible special effects and insults to science?" April sounded honestly horrified, and Donatello muffled his laughter.

"Okay, okay, I get it," he amended. "There's nothing we can do about Leo's unhealthy obsession."

"Darn right," April snickered, skirting a large puddle in the middle of the sidewalk.

Donatello began to speak again, only for him to suddenly gasp and shriek, "Mikey, _no_! Put that down!"

April chuckled as Michelangelo yelped. She heard the sounds of a chase, wincing whenever anything crashed in the background, sympathetically acknowledging any experiments that might have been ruined.

"So I'll see you soon, Donnie—" April began to loudly say, when a massive arm suddenly grabbed her around the middle, bracketing her arms at her sides, and cutting her off with a shout as she was dragged into the adjacent alley.

April heard her T-Phone clatter against the sidewalk and Donnie's anxious cries of "April? _April_?!" as a second man appeared beside her attacker. For an instant April struggled to place their faces, worried that they were Foot or Purple Dragons. But she was unfamiliar with them—they were only run-of-the-mill muggers. The relief that she felt upon this realization said a lot about how strange her life had become.

Mugger Number Two instantly began pawing her, wasting no time in yanking off her backpack and rifling through its contents as Mugger Number One held her back. They were nervous though, and it did not help that April continued spouting inane threats at them, and Mugger Number One kept glancing around as if he expected the police to jump out from behind the dumpsters.

"Come _on_, Vinnie," Mugger Number One hissed, easily restraining April as she struggled against his viselike grip. "Hurry up."

"Shut up, Marco," Mugger Number Two muttered, and began shaking April's backpack, sending its contents flying in all directions. He swore, and bent to pick up April's wallet, giving her the perfect opening.

As Mugger Number Two crouched on the ground in front of her, April bent her leg and thrust her knee into his jaw, sending him sprawling onto his back. As she had predicted, Mugger Number One's grip loosened in his shock, and using his weight against him, she flipped him over her shoulder and on top of Mugger Number Two.

After making sure than the wannabe thieves were indeed unconscious, April took several deep breaths to try and quell the racing of her heart. She hurried to retrieve the misplaced contents of her bag with shaking hands, kicking the muggers for good measure. She dragged the back of her hand across her sweat beaded brow once everything had been collected, and she reclined against a dumpster with her broken T-Phone in her lap .

"_April_!"

Blinking, she looked up at the building above her and found four familiar shadows looking back. She grinned weakly.

"Hey, guys."

The tallest of the shadows was the first to leap off the roof and raced to her side, eyes wide as he took in her disheveled appearance and the unconscious men a few scant feet away.

"A-April, are-are you—?"

She smiled comfortingly as the other shadows landed around her.

"I'm fine," she assured them, and took the large hand that the tallest shadow offered her. As soon as she was standing, April quickly wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, her cheek against his plastron. Shaking hands gradually came to rest on her back.

April released him after a long moment, the others having moved to dispose of the muggers, and wisely kept her smile in place when she saw the fear that had yet to fade from his wide brown eyes.

"Donnie, I'm fine," she repeated, and moved to hold both his hands, extending her arms. "See? No harm done."

Donatello gnawed apprehensively on his bottom lip. "And you beat them up?"

"I'm not as weak as I used to be," April said softly.

As his brother's returned, Donatello gently squeezed her hands.

"No. You're not."


End file.
